Tim Barry said that he’s been a little disappointed with his production recently.
“I haven’t been getting a lot of pitches to hit the last two weeks,” said Barry after Oak Forest’s 10-0 whitewash against T.F. South on Wednesday.
For the record, the rock-solid 6-foot, 205-pound Barry has tallied 10 RBI, a homer and eight hits in his last three games through Thursday, April 24.
Whether or not his production has been down is debatable, but you really can’t blame opposing teams for not wanting to pitch to the right-handed hitting leftfielder. I mean, the kid’s been on a season-long hitting binge. He already has connected for eight home runs, 45 RBI and six doubles.
The freshman – yes, that’s right, freshman – is hitting .500 in the cleanup hole for the 16-2 Bengals.
Oak Forest coach Ron Czarnecki said even though Barry is only a freshman, he’s not surprised by the slugger’s statistics.
“I’ve watched Tim since he’s been 10 years old,” said Czarnecki, whose team has won 16 straight games through Thursday. “The kid’s just a hitter. I’ve been around the game a long time, and I’ve never seen a kid hit like that.”
Barry gave a glimpse of his power potential last summer when he hit five bombs for Oak Forest’s varsity summer team, helping the team advance to the Elite Eight of the tournament. Barry, though, couldn’t play in the finals because it was ruled he was only an eighth-grader then, therefore ineligible to compete in a high school tournament.
Barry is playing the outfield now, but Czarnecki said he plans on putting him behind the plate in the next couple of years.
Emergence of Eric Rohe: Every season there are a few senior pitchers who emerge from nowhere during the spring. Last year’s most notable pitcher was Willowbrook left-hander Curtis Hudson, who eventually signed with Evansville.
This year’s biggest surprise so far has been Mundelein right-hander Eric Rohe. On Thursday, Rohe improved to 7-0 after he struck out 12 in a victory over Lake Forest. Rohe possesses a mid-80s fastball, but his best pitch is a sharp curveball that he throws for strikes.
Rohe is the biggest reason why Mundelein is 16-2 through Thursday. Senior right-hander Justin Piasecki (3-0) and junior outfielder Colton Tortorello have also played important roles in the Mustangs’ somewhat surprising season.